Bøger af Souvankham Thammavongsa

ACCLAIMED EDITOR: Thammavongsa's debut short story collection is a finalist for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller prize, was a New York Times Editors' Choice, featured in The Paris Review, and generally much buzzed-about (in addition to her four poetry collections being much acclaimed in their own right). Naming her as Canadian judge of the 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize and editor of the anthology should bring some additional buzz and publicity to the prize announcement. BUZZWORTHY ANNOUNCEMENTS: The announcement of the international and Canadian shortlists (in April, Poetry Month), the readings by the shortlisted poets (in early June), and the announcement of the two $65,000 prize winners at a gala event (on the evening following the shortlist readings) generates considerable buzz around the Griffin Poetry Prize and interest in all the shortlisted poets' work.HIGHLY ANTICIPATED: The release of the Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist anthology is an annual event awaited with anticipation by poetry lovers and readers.PRESTIGIOUS: The book fulfills Anansi's mandate to display the best Canadian poets alongside the best international poets. It reinforces our position as the premier publisher of poetry in Canada.

A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN Open Book Award, and winner of the 2020 Giller Prize, this revelatory story collection honors characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, even as they do the necessary "grunt work of the world." A failed boxer painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. A mother teaching her daughter the art of worm harvesting. In her stunning debut story collection, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says, "All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do—brightly, ferociously, unforgettably.Unsentimental yet tender, taut and visceral, How to Pronounce Knife announces Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most striking voices of her generation. “As the daughter of refugees, I’m able to finally see myself in stories.” —Angela So, Electric Literature